Combined propeller pitch and engine speed control device



March 1952 J. E. ENGLESSON 2,588,371

COMBINED PROPELLER PITCH AND ENGINE SPEED CONTROL DEVICE Filed Jan. 9, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet l l'lmnnnnn nmmnm I nnnmlm lllllllllll-lgllll Elli. 1 a y 12 16 g 5 r E r l Eflll I l l EI-m N g 2 6'4 7' 5 2 9 f E iii-iii j E /Z/ /0/ "63-0 60 DUDE] Iru/ufCor:

j n Elou Englesson fl I y March 1952 .J. E. ENGLESSON COMBINED PROPELLER PITCH AND ENGINE SPEED CONTROL DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 9, 1946 lvweuUr john E ov E n5 [55m Prftorney:

WNW

March 11, 1952 J. E. ENGLESSON 2,588,371

COMBINED PROPELLER PITCH AND ENGINE SPEED CONTROL DEVICE 5 Sheets-$heet Filed Jan. 9, 1946 hI/CHIOI';

Patented Mar. 11, 1952 COMBINED P "/QFFILER lfifCHANii ENGiNi J' SPEED CONTROL Davies John Elev Engle'ss'on, Kristinehamm Sweden Application January, 9, 1946, Serial fio.-39,93' In SWedeii' January 15, 1945 12 Claims.- (Cl. 110*1-3554) The present invention relates to a combined propeller pitch and engine speed control device. m a shipwhich is provided with" a propeller having adjustable blades, all operations are as a rule controlled from the bridge withouttheaid of the engine room crew. In order to; obtain the best possible efliciency of the entiredriving me-- chinery, that is to say, of the combination of driving engine and propeller, it is not s'uflicient merely to adjust the pitch of the propeller, since T01 GECI'ladjILIs'td propeller pitch ii; is also necessary to regulate the" speed of the drivingengine, and thus ofthe propeller, to a certain cor responding number of revolutions.

It is the purpose of the present inventionto provide a combined propeller pitch and engine speed controidevice whichwiii' enable the captain of the ship easily and speedily and by means of a single operating device tocontrol and adjust the pitch of' the propeller as well as the speed of the engine in such manner that mall positions of control the propeller pitchandthe speed of the engine are correctly related to one another.

With this purpose in View the combined pr'o peller pitch and engine speed control device according to the present irivention comprises a pitch va-ryi'ng mechanism for effecting' 'adj ustmerit of the pitch of the propeller blades, and adjustable centrifugal speed governor controlling the speed of the engine, a propeller pitch adjustment means associated. with the pitch vary ing-mechanism and adapted topositively actuate said mechanism in accordance with a predetermined course of eon-troloperations; an engine speed adjhstnientmeans associated with thecentrifugal speed governor an'd adapted to positively actuate, said governor in accordance with a second predetermined course: of control operations,

an operating device, and means operativelyconnecting said operating." device to eachvofsaid ad'- j ustn'ientmeans, wherebyrsaid adjustment means may be operated simultaneously by means of said operating device;

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. l is a diagram that'- illustrates the function of the device according to the present'invention andthe manher in which the propeller pitch and the engine s'peedare controlled in the case when the driving engine is a diesel engine. Fig. 2; illustratesdiagrammatically a constructional form of the device according to the invention in which the ad;- justmentmeans for the pitch-varying mechanisnrand; for the centrifugal speed governor consist of roller-shaped rotatable: curve bodiesiwhich ase mounted one common shaft-and Fig.3 shows,

2 also diagrammatically, a second constructional form in which the-said bodies are mounted on separate shafts. Fig. 4 illustrates diagrammati cally a constructional form of the invention-in which the adjustment means for the pitchwary in'g mechanism andfor the centrifugal governor consist of lever system's; Figs. 5 and 6 show dia' grams of the variation of the propeller pitch and of the enginespeed, respectively, corresponding to those? shownin Fig.- 1.- Fig; 7 shows diagrammatically a further constructional form which diners fromthatshown irrFiQ-Z, by the provision of auxiliary operating devices for independent actuation of the pitch-varying mechanism and of the centrifugal governor;

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates diagrammatically the manner in which the pitch of the propeller and' the number of revolutions per minute thereof should preferably be regulated with respect to one another when the driving engine is a diesel engine; The upper curve indicates the variation of the number of revolutions per minute; while the lower curve indicates the variationof 'thepropeller pitchboth being plotted against the speed ofthe ship, from zero speed thereoi to full s peed ahead or asternl A-t speeds betweennospeedandthe-speed A the driving" engine should all the time run at the lowest number of revolutions per minute at which the engine can o erate, for instance, a speed ofrevolutions per minute. During: this period the speed of the shipis controlled by varying the pitch oi the propeller which is increased continuouslm as illustrated in the diagram, from zero pitch: up to a certain pitch A1 at which the total eific'iency, of the engine and of the propeller,- becomes the maximum; This pitch A1 lies, for instance; at l8, which is slightly greater than that pitch I 65 at which the propeller in question is intended to be used at full speed ahead. The numbers on the scale of pitch are arbitrarily selected and extend: from zero up to 20% Zero pitch indicates the pitch when the propeller is running idle: At speeds of the ship between the points A: andB; this propeller pitch [8 between points Al and. Bi is maintained constant, and the speed of the shipriscontrolled by varying the speed of the engine from A2 to" B2. When the engine speed reaches the point B2, the average pressure in the: engine cylinders have reached the highest permissible value atnormal operation. It: is necessary;- therefore, again to reduce the propeller pitch in order to reach the highest normal engine'speed. Ci,- for instance revolutions per minute, at which the engine delivers} its normal full output. Between the: points B and C on the speed line of the ship it is thus necessary to change both the engine speed from E2 to C2 and the propeller pitch from B1 to C1. If it is desired to run the ship at forced speed without increasing the average pressure in the engine, it is merely necessary to continue the regulation in such manner that the engine speed is further increased and the propeller pitch is reduced, so that the average pressure in the engine is maintained.

In the constructional form illustrated in Fig. 2 there is provided an operating lever l, which is assumed to be placed on the bridge of the ship, and by means of which a shaft 2, which is journalled in fixed bearings, may be rotated in one direction or the other. Transmission of movement from the lever I to the shaft 2 is eifected, in the instance illustrated, by means of a toothed gearing 3, but may of course be effected by means of any other suitable device. Two roller-shaped curve bodies 4 and 5 are provided on the shaft 2 in such manner that they may be displaced on the shaft but cannot be rotated relativelyto the same. The curve bodies 4 and 5 serve to actuate rollers 6 and I, respectively, which are J held against the surfaces of said bodies by springs 8 and 9, respectively, and which are rotatably journalled at the ends of the rods III and II, respectively, which are slidably supported in fixed bearings in such manner that they may be displaced in a direction perpendicular to the shaft 2. The rod It) serves to operate the control means which, in a manner known per se, controls the mechanism, which is not shown in the drawing, for adjusting the adjustable propeller blades I2, and is connected to such control means in any suitable manner, diagrammatically illustrated asa bell crank lever IIII and a rod I02 slidable in the propeller shaft I2I. The rod II 'actuates the spring I3 of a centrifugal governor I4 for the propeller driving engine I5, which may 'be assumed, for instance, to be a diesel engine.

For effecting a displacement of the curve bodies 4 and 5 on the shaft 2 there is provided a screwthreaded spindle II, which is rotatably journalled in a bearing I5, and which extendsv parallel to :the shaft 2 and may be rotated by; means of a handwheel I8. two arms I9 and--20 having female screw threads Provided on the spindle H are engaging the threads on the spindle. Said arms engage grooves provided in the bodies 4 and 5 so that the latter will be displaced-on the shaft 2 when the spindle II is rotated. The screwthreads on the spindle Ill and in the two arms I9 and 20 may be made in such manner, as in the instance illustrated, that upon rotation of the spindle the two bodies 4and 5 are moved in the same direction, so that the distance between said bodies remains unchanged. 1

The two curve bodies 4 and 5, which constitute the abovementioned adjustment members for varying the pitch of the propeller blades I2 and for varying the speed of the engine I5, respectively, and which are connected to the common operating lever I, are shaped in such manner that their surfaces form a plurality of peripheral curve paths, all of which have such shapes that the rods II] and II are displaced longitudinally when the bodies 4 and 5 are rotated by means of the lever I. By making these curve paths of suitable shapes it is thus possible to effect the desired variation of the pitch of the propeller blades and of the speed of the engine, for instance in accordance with the curves shown in'Fig. 1. The two bodies are also shaped in such manner that each curve path on the body 4 corresponds to a certain curve path on the body 5. Dot and dash lines in Fig. 2 indicate three such curve paths on each body, namely the curve paths I, II and III on the body 4, and the corresponding curve paths Ia, 11a and IIIa on the body 5. These curve paths are located at correspondingly equal distances in the axial direction, in such manner that when the roller 6 rurfs on the path I on the roller 4, the roller I runs on the corresponding path Ia on the body 5, and so forth. By operating the lever I on the bridge the captain of the ship can thus automatically effect that change of the propeller pitch and of the engine speed that is most suited to meet the sailing conditions in each particular case, and therefore, he does not have to think about in what manner the propeller pitch and the engine speed should be regulated relatively to one another on each particular occasion.

If the sailing conditions, such as the resistance of the water or of the air, undergo a change, it is easy with the aid of the regulating means above described to meet such change. For this purpose it is only necessary to turn the handwheel I8 so as to displace the two curve bodies 4 and 5 in the axial direction, in such manner that another pair of curve paths, for instance the paths II and IM, which are suited to the changed conditions, are moved into operative positions and actuate the rollers 6 and I. These curve paths will then determine the variation of the propeller pitch and of the engine speed that-is most suited to the changed sailing conditions.

The two adjustment members 4, 5 and the members directly actuated by the same, may suitably be located in theengine room of the ship, or in some other suitable room where they are accessible to the engine crew for adjustment and inspection.

If for some reason it is desirable not to operate the driving machinery in such manner that the change of the propeller pitch and the change of the engine speed stand in a certain predetermined relation to one another, it is obviously necessary to provide means for varying the pitch and the engine speed at will. To this end the constructional form illustrated in Fig. 2 may be modified in the manner illustrated in Fig. 3. This constructional form is substantially similar to that shown in Fig. 2, except that the two curve bodies 4 and 5 are arranged in such manner that they may be rotated either each by itself, or both together, as according to Fig. 2. For this purpose the curve body 5 for changing the engine speed is mounted on a separate shaft 2 I, which is jourtwo curve bodies 4 and 5 are each provided with 'a curve path of a particular shape.

paths are indicated by the dot and dash lines IV and IVa respectively. The curve path IV on the body 4 for varying the propeller pitch may suitably be shaped in such manner that, for instance, said pitch is changed continuously from zeroto a maximum for running ahead when the lever I is moved from its middle position to the position full Said curve anger-r speed ahead, and from zerot'o a maximumf'or' running asternwhenthe lever is'moved' from its middle position to the position full speed ast'ern. The" curvepath- IVa on the body 5 for varying the engine; speed may then suitably be shaped in such manner that the engine runs: atits lowest possible speed when the lever 22 is moved farthest esteem, and atits highest permis sible speedwhenthe lever 22 movedfarthest ahead.

When itis desired to vary the propellerr pitch and the engine speed independently of one an.- other; the curve bodies 4 and 5 are thusdisplaced by means -ofythe-:handwheel l8; spindle l1: and arms I9 and to the-left to thepositions shown in Fig. 3, in which therollers 6 and 'Iirun on the curve paths IV and IVa, IBSDQECtiVBIEKaftGI" which the pin 26 is removed, so. that the two levers. and 22 are free from one another. The propeller pitch may then bevariedindependently. by; means of: the lever |,.and the engine speed'may be-varied independently by means of thelever 22.

Fig; 4 illustrates .:a further constructional form ofithezinvention in whichthe; curve bodies: 4 and 5 above, described; are replaced by lever; systems.

In this: constructional: form. there are provided threeparallel shafts121,.28-and 29., which .are j ournalled .infixed bearings; and. each of. which is. pro,- vided', with. an. operating: lever: 30; 3| and 32, re,-

spectively, by means; of: which: the; shafts may be thegshaft2Bj. The .lever 34,is connectedby means of asimilarsresilientconnecting; rod 36 with a second two-armed, lever; 39, 40, secured to the. shaft 28. The. lever arm 31 is; connectedthrougha rod 4|, which correspondsto therod H) in Fig. 2,;to thecontrol means that: controls the pitch-varying mechanism forthe. adjustable propeller blades. Securedtothe-shaft 29 isa lever 42 whichis connectedthrough a. rod 43 with alever 45 which is pivoted on a shaft 44 and the free endof which normally bears againsta fixed abutment46. The lever 42 is alsoconnected through a rod 41,,which correspondsto therod I in Fig; 2, with the. centrifugal governor for; the, enginedrivingthe pro,- pellen: Secured tothe, shaft 21 belowthejlever 451s. a;two-armed lever 48, 49 in the, free ends of which adjustment screws 50 and 5| are screwed, so that,the height of the-points of said, screws above the shaft 21 may beadjusted. For limiting the downward movement of the lever 31, there is also provided an adjustablestop in the form of an adjustment screw" 52,. andv asimilar adjustment screw, 53 serves to limit the downward movement of; the lever 40. Finally, theconnecting rod isv also provided with. an adjustable stop for the lever3'l in the. form of an adjustment; screw 54 which iSiSCIBWBd: into an'arm. 56 projecting laterally from the: said rod, and the connecting rod. 36 isaprovidedwithi an adjustable stop for the lever in the form ofan adjustment screw 55 which is screwed into an arm 51 projecting laterally from the said connecting rod. The resilient connection of the lever arms 33 and 38 with the connecting rod 35 is indicated in the drawing by-l'ong compression springs 58 and 59 and tlce resilient connection of the lever-arms- 34 and 39With the-con- 6. meeting rod 36lis' indicated by similarcompressiom springs 60. and BI.

exert upward pressure on the lever arms.;.

In correspondence to the curves indicatingthe variation of propeller pitch and of engine speed; shown in Fig. 1, there areshown inEigs. 5 and-6i in a slightly-different manner curves showinggtha change of propeller pitch and of engine speed; respectively. These curves are applicable. both? when the engine consistsof asteam engineand when it consists of a diesel engine. Fig. 5' illustrates the variations of the propeller'pitoh when the ship is going ahead as well as-astern, and Fi'gi 6 illustrates in a similar manner the variation, of the engine speed.

The apparatus illustrated in Fig. 4fi1nctionsr in the following manner when the ship isrunning ahead. When the lever 30is moved to the. left in Fig. 4, the lever arm 33 and the connectingrod 35 move upwards, and through the inter mediary of the spring 59 the latter moves the lever 38 upwards. The shaft 28is thusturn-ed in the counter-clockwisedirection, so that thelever 3'! swings downwards and actuates, through theintermediary of the rod 4|, thecontrol means that regulates the propeller pitch, so that. said pitch is continuously increased, from the point 33 to the point Ae -in Fig. 5.. This increase-ofthe pitch continues until the lever 31 comesto bear against the stop 52. The connecting rod 35 continues its upward movement, however, whilecompressing the spring 59. During this part'uof the movement, which corresponds to the line Ar-Bz. in Fig. 5, the pitch remains unchanged. This condition lasts until the adjustment screw 54 strikes against the lever arm 3! and compels: the latter againto move upwards, while the spring 59 is further compressed, which movementresults in the control means for the pitch-varyingmechanism being reversed, so that the pitch is again decreased, from point B1130 point C3 in Fig. 5; As regards that portion of the apparatus which efiects variation of the speedofthe engine, the adjustment screw 5| in the lever arm 4931s ad'- justed in such manner that it, strikes againstthe lever arm 45 and begins to swing the. latterlupwards only when the downward movement offthe lever arm 31 isxstopp-ed'by the stop52. Therefore, the enginespeed remains unchanged from;po int ill to point; A4 in. Fig. 6, but: is; afterwards-increased continuously from point A4; to point? 134, due to thelever" arm 45 swinging-upwardsiand. raising; through. the intermediaryof' the. rod; 4.3 and the lever" arm 42; the rod 4-! the: upward movementof which eifectsanincreaseof theiengine speed. The increase of, the engine speed may then be continued from pointB4 to point G l.

In the event that it is desired to varytheposltion of the point Brill Fig. 5 in order to change the point at which the reduction of the 1. pitch is initiated, or if. it is. desired to change the angle a in Fig. 6 in order to cause the variation of the engine speed to take place at amore rapid rate or at a slower rate than that corresponding to the inclination of the line A4 B4in Fig. 6, this object can be attained by constructing the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 4 in such manner that the stops 54 and 55' are adjustable in the longitudinal directions'of the arms55' and ST, respectively, and the stops 5n and 5| are" adjustable in the longitudinal direction of the lever arms 48 and 49, respectively. Means allowing such ad justmentare well known in the artancl' need not, therefore, be furtherdescribedi Theapparatus f-unctionsdn an analogousman- All of these compression; springs are arrangedin suchmanner that-they note similar parts.

ner'; when the ship is'movin'g astern for which purpose the lever 35 is moved. to the right in Fig. 4. 'Ihe'main difierences consist in that in this case theconnecting rod 36 is caused to function instead of the rod 35, the stop 53 for the lever 49 instead of the stop 52 for the lever 31, and the stop 55 instead of the stop 54. The variation of the engine speed is effected in the same manner as when the ship is moving ahead, with the dinerence only that in this case the adjustment screw 50 will strike against the lever 45 and swing it upwards.

The regulating means according to the present invention possesses a further advantage which is of great practical importance. When the engine is running at a high speed, and it is desired to reduce the speed of the ship, and when for this purpose the propeller pitch is reduced, the governor of the engine is also actuated so that the engine speed is also reduced. In this way the engine is prevented from racing, which will otherwise easily happen if the propeller pitch only is rapidly reduced, due to the fact that propelling engines for ships have a comparatively small flywheel mass.

With the regulating means above described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3, however, the commander of the ship cannot influence the engine speed and/or the propeller pitch in other manner than that permitted by the curve bodies 4 and 5. On certain occasions, however, as for instance when breaking ice, it may be advantageous to run the engine all the time at full normal speed or even at overspeed, in order to make it possible quickly to put full load or overload on the engine,

and on the other hand, when a ship carries no load it may be advantageous at a somewhat reduced speed of the ship to use a greater propeller pitch than when the ship carries full load.

. The present invention, therefore, comprises a further improvement which renders its possible to efiect such variations of the regulation. This further improvement is mainly characterized by thefact the association with the motion transmitting elements, such as rods I and II, in Fig. 2, of auxiliary adjustment and operating devices for actuating the propeller pitch and engine control means independently of the adjustment members, such as the curve bodies 4 and of Fig. 2. For the purpose of rendering it possible to vary the adjustment of the propeller pitch and of the speed of the engine independently of the position of the abovementioned adjustment members, i. e. the curve bodies, a resilient connection is preferably inserted in each of the said substantially similar to that illustrated in Fig. 2,

and similar reference numerals are used to de- Fig. 7 shows an operating lever I which may be placed on the bridge of the ship, and by the aid of which and through the intermediary of a toothed gearing 3, a shaft 2 rotatably journalled in fixed bearings may be :rotated in one direction or the other. Mounted on the said shaft 2 are two roller-shaped curve bodies 4 and 5 in such manner that they are displaceable on the shaft but not rotatable relatively ,to the same. The curve bodies 4 and 5 serve to actuate'rollers 6 andv 1, respectively, which are heldby'springs 8 and 9, respectively, againstthe surfaces of the bodies, and'which are journalled' IIl actuated by the curve body 4 is connected to' and serves to actuate the control means which, ina manner known per 'se, serves to controlthe pitch-varying mechanism, not shown in the drawing, forthe adjustable propeller .blades I2, and the rod-I I actuated by the curve body 5 actuates the'spring I3 of a centrifugal governor I4 for the engine I5 driving thepropeller, which engine may, for instance, be'a diesel'engine. The two curve bodies 4 and 5, which constitute the abovementioned adjustment members for varying the pitch of the propeller blades I2 and for controlling the speed of' the driving engine I5, respectively, and which are connected 'to the common operating lever I, are shaped in such manner that their surfaces form a plurality of peripheral curve pathsihaving such shape that the rods I0 and I I actuated by the same are displaced in their longitudinal. directions when the, bodies 4 and 5 are rotated by means of the lever I. By shaping these curve paths in suitable manner it is thus possible to produce certain desired variations of the pitch of the propeller blades and of the speed of the'engine, as described in' detail here above.

In order to enable the captain to regulate the propeller pitch and the engine speed also in another manner than that produced by the said curve paths on the curve bodies, the two: abovementioned displaceable rods III and I I, which are actuated by the curve bodies 4 and 5, are each divided in two portions or members la and I01). and I Ia and I Ib, respectively, which portions are aligned with one another. Between the twoportions of each rod there is interposed a resilient connection which permits actuating of-the concontrol means for the pitch-varying mechanism for the propeller blades I2 independently of the position of the curve body 4, and actuation of the centrifugal governor I4 of the engine I5 independently of the position of the curve body 5. Associated with the rod member Iflb is an auxiliary operating device in the form of a lever I4 for actuating the control means for the pitchvarying mechanism for the propeller blades I2 independently of the curve body 4, and associated with the rod member H1) is a second auxiliary operating device in the form of a lever I5 for actuating the centrifugal regulator I4 independently of the curve body 5.

In the instance illustrated, the resilent connection between the rod members Illa and IUb consists of a sleeve 68 which is rigidl attached to the lower rod member [01), while the upper rod member Ifia is'slidable through the upper end of said sleeve 68. Upward movement of the rod member Ilia in the sleeve 68 is limited by a stop 70 on the lower end of the rod member. Interposed between the said stop I0 and the lower end of the sleeve 68 is a strong spring II which normally maintains the stop against the upper end of the sleeve. The spring II is stronger than the spring 8 which in its turn is strong enough to overcome frictional resistance ofiered by the control means for the pitch-varying mechanism for the propeller blades when moved, and in view hereof the rod portions "la and lb act as a single rod and transmit the regulation impulses from the curve body ,4 to the said control means.

In a similar manner the resilient connection interposed between the rod members Ma. and lib consists of a sleeve .69 which is rigidly attached to the lower .rod member lib, while the upper 'rod member Ha is slidable in the sleeve, its up Ward movement relatively to the sleeve being lim- [ited by a stop 72 which is normally forced against the upper end of the sleeve by the spring 13. Also the two rod members Ila .and lib operate as a single rod and transmit the regulation impulses from the curve body to the centrifugal governor I 4. The operating device 14 isshown as consisting .of a bell crank lever pivoted .on the late the propeller pitch and the engine speed independently of the curve bodies 4 and 5. When the levers l4 and 15 are moved to theleft or to the right, as viewed in the drawing, they :move the rod members Illb and Hb in the upward or downward direction, respectively, :so that the control means for the pitch-varying mechanism for the adjustable propeller blades I 2 and the centrifugal governor I 4 areactuated. On the other hand, movement of the levers 7'4 and 35 to the left, from their middle positions shown in the drawing, produces no displacement of the rod members Illa and l I (1, provided that the rollers 16 and l are conta tin with the curvebodies 4 and 5, respectively. Such movement to the left of the levers merely results in the sleeves 68 and 69 sliding upwards on the rod'mem'bers :1 and Ila while compressing the springs "H and 1.3..

When the levers M and are moved to the right from the zero position shown in thesdravving, however, the rod members Illa and I la are moved downwards by the stops l0 and 12, respectively, so that the rollers 6 and l are moved away from the curve bodies 4 and 5, respectively, while the springs 8 and 9 are compressed. When the levers l4 and 15 occupy their normal zero positions, as shown in the drawing, regulation of the propeller pitch and of the speed of the engine is elfected by rotation of the curve bodies 4 and 5 in the same manner as previously described in connection with Fig. 2.

The constructional forms above described and illustrated in the drawings are only to be regarded as examples, and the details thereof may, of course, be modified in several ways without departing from the principle of the invention.

I claim:

1. Means for regulating a ships screw propeller having adjustable blades and an engine driving said propeller, comprising in combination, a pitch-varying mechanism for adjusting the position of said propeller blades, a governing means controlling the speed of said engine, a first adjustment member comprising a substantially roller-shaped rotatable and axially displaceable curve body the circumferential surface of which forms a plurality of curve paths eccentric to the axis of rotation of said body, a first motion transmitting device engaging the circumference of said curve body and adapted to actuate said pitch-varying mechanism, a second adjustment member comprising a second substantially roller-shaped rotatable and axially displaceable curve body the circumferential surface of which forms a plurality of curve paths eccentric to the axis of rotation of said second curve body, a second motion transmitting device eng ging the circumferential surface of said second .curve body and adapted to actuate said governing means, means for displacing said first and second curve bodies axially, a first operating device, means operatively connecting said operating device to said first adjustment member so as to transmit rotary motion to said first curve body thereof, a second operating device, means operatively connecting said second operating device to said second adjustment member so as to transmit rotary motion to saidsecond curve body thereof, whereby said adjustment members may be operated separately by means of said first and second operating devices, and

means for connecting said operating devices to 3. A marine variable-pitchscrew propeller and a driving and control system therefor, comprising a pitch-varying mechanism connected to said propeller blades for effecting adjustment of the pitch of said blades, an engine for driving said propeller, an adjustable centrifugal speed governor controlling the speed of said engine by controlling the supply of motive fiuidl thereto, and a combined propeller pitch and engine speed control comprising a first movable adjustment means positively actuating said pitch-varying mechanism in accordance with a predetermined control characteristic, a second movable adjustment means positively actuating said centrifugal governor in accordance with a second predetermined control characteristic, a manually movable operating device, and means connecting said operating device to each of said first and second adjustment means to transmit motion thereto, whereby said first and second adjustment means may be operated simultaneously to different settings by said operating device, and whereby for any given setting, the engine speed and propeller pitch remains substantially constant under different conditions of the sea.

4. The driving and control system of claim 3 wherein at least one of said first and second adjustment means is regulatable to positively actuate its associated mechanism in accordance with any of a plurality of predetermined controlled characteristics, and means for effecting such regulation of said adjustment means.

5. The driving and control system of claim 3 which includes a first motion transmitting device interposed between said first adjustment means and said pitch-varying mechanism and a second motion transmitting device interposed between said second adjustment means and said centrifugal speed governor.

6. The driving and control system of claim 5 in which said first and second adjustment means are substantially roller-shaped rotatable curve bodies the circumferential surfaces of each of which form a plurality of different curve paths a 11 eccentric to the axis of rotation of said curve body.

7. The driving and control system of claim in which at least one of said first and second transmitting devices includes an auxiliary operating device and means connecting said auxiliary operating device to the transmitting device whereby separate operation of the transmitting device may be effected.

8. The driving and control system of claim 5, which includesa first auxiliary operating device connected to said first motion transmitting device whereby separate operation of said first motion transmitting device may be effected and a second auxiliary operating device connected to said second motion transmitting device whereby separate operation of said second motion transmitting device may beeffected.

9. The driving and control system of claim 8 which includes at least one resilient connection device inserted in one of said first and second motion transmitting devices between the corresponding auxiliary operating device and the corresponding adjustment means.

10. The driving and control system of claim 9 which includes a first resilient connection device inserted in said first motion transmitting device between said first auxiliary operating device and said first adjustment means and a second resilient connection device inserted in said second motion transmitting device between said second auxiliary operating device and said second adjustment means.

11. The driving and control system of claim 5 in which said first adjustment means comprises a first substantially roller shaped rotatable curve body the circumferential surface of which forms a plurality of different curve paths eccentric to the axis of rotation of said body and in which said second adjustment means comprises a second rotatable curve body the circumferential surface of which forms a plurality of different 12 curve paths eccentric to the axis of rotation of said second body, and including a shaft upon which at least one of said curve bodies is axially displaceable and means for displacing at least 5 one of said curve bodies axially on said shaft.

12. The driving and control system of claim 11 including an auxiliary operating device connected to said second motion transmitting device whereby separate operation of said second motion transmitting device may be eifected and a resilient connection device inserted in said second motion transmitting device between said auxiliary operating device and said second rotatable curve body. 15 JOHN ELOV ENGLESSON.

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